Crypto ‘Pig-Butchering’ Scam Escalating Into A National Security Risk— Study

Chain analysts and law enforcement are sounding the alarm about a type of fraud known as “pig-butchering,” in which criminals groom victims online and push them into fake crypto investments. Related Reading: XRP Earns Academic Praise: University Study Calls It ‘Gold In Your Hands’ According to Chainalysis, crypto scams sent close to $10 billion on-chain in 2024, with pig-butchering revenue growing almost 40% year-over-year and the number of deposits into those scams rising more than 200% — even as the average deposit size fell roughly 55%. These shifts point to a model that now relies on many more victims paying smaller amounts, making the operation both lucrative and hard to trace. Organized Networks Behind The Scams Investigators say these are not lone fraudsters. Reports have disclosed that scam networks operate like organized criminal enterprises, sometimes using trafficked workers in compounds to call, message and manage victims. Victim grooming can span weeks or months, turning e